Polo, equestrian officials preview the 2013 season

November 7, 2012|Nadia Sorocka nsorocka@tribune.com

Starting in early January the western communities become the hub for equestrian sports as dressage, polo and show jumping events bring millions of dollars into the area every season. To kick off the season the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce had its annual equestrian luncheon at the International Polo Club with guest speakers Mark Bellissimo, John Wash and Noreen O'Sullivan.

"The winter equestrian season has a tremendous economic impact in this area," chamber CEO Jaene Miranda said.

She presented a new program the chamber is working on to better educate the community about the equestrian sports here in their backyard – an Equestrian Welcome Center at their western office in Loxahatchee.

"The equestrian season brings an economic boost for our businesses," Miranda said. "The goal is to have a message board on State Road 7, as well as a resource and welcome center at the chamber."

The estimated cost for the project is $450,000, but Miranda said that the chamber is ready to take on the challenge.

Noreen O'Sullivan with Gold Coast Dressage and Wellington Classic Dressage talked about the upcoming dressage season in Wellington, including the return of the World Dressage Masters to the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center Jan. 23 to 26.

"The World Dressage Masters is the only five-star event in the area," she said. "Many of the riders return year after year. We have as many as 10,000 spectators during the four-day weekend."

O'Sullivan manages 24 weeks of dressage competition at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center west of West Palm Beach and at White Fences in Loxahatchee.

"Each year we raise the bar here in Palm Beach County," she said. "New this year we will be hosting an educational festival following the World Dressage Masters."

For the Winter Equestrian Festival at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington the goal for this year is to open the events to residents, said Mark Bellissimo, president of Equestrian Sport Productions. He talked about how the growth of WEF has in many ways exceeded his dreams.

"When we took over in 2006 this event was losing money," he said. "In the worst economic environment our generation has known we invested $35 million, because we knew what Wellington could be. Since then we have grown on an annual basis by 20 percent."

Bellissimo said that WEF as an event has not expanded, but they have seen expansion of its side periods that occur before and after the winter season.

"We will continue to make these events affordable and accessible," he said. "This is how we can expand the sport. We are bringing about 7,000 to 9,000 people to our Saturday events. Of those thousands are children."

Rounding out the speakers was president of the International Polo Club John Wash with a preview of the club's 10th season, which is ready to celebrate its history from strawberry fields and orange groves to a top-notch polo facility.

"We are continuing to grow to become a premier club in the world," he said.